DRINKING WATER
Quick-Lock Saves Contractor $225,000
Mechanical point repair offers a cost-effective, efficient alternative to traditional lining for fixing pipe defects. These thin-profile stainless-steel sleeves restore structural integrity and seal leaks quickly, significantly reducing project costs while maintaining optimal flow.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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Ozone Disinfection System Provides Second Stage Treatment For Water Treatment Plant
Tampa Bay Water’s state-of-the-art surface water treatment plant has provided high-quality drinking water to the Tampa Bay region.
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![FCS Case Study]( "Advanced Leak Detection Safeguards Water In Utqiaġvik, Alaska")
Advanced Leak Detection Safeguards Water In Utqiaġvik, AlaskaIn the remote Arctic village of Utqiaġvik, Alaska — where extreme winters and frozen terrain make traditional water system maintenance nearly impossible — the Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) faced a critical threat: a persistent underground leak draining over 10,000 gallons of water per day.
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![GettyImages-2078065918_450_300]( "Precision Under Pressure: Engineering Custom Solutions For Pipe Emergencies")
Precision Under Pressure: Engineering Custom Solutions For Pipe EmergenciesEmergency pipe repairs demand speed and accuracy. Custom engineered fittings ensure reliability in non-standard conditions, minimizing downtime, avoiding costly damage, and restoring service with precision and efficiency.
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![EchoShore DXe]( "Three Acoustic Technologies For Leak Detection And Pipe Assessment")
Three Acoustic Technologies For Leak Detection And Pipe AssessmentWater companies face a constant battle against leaks, aging infrastructure, and the need for efficient asset management. Acoustic technology has been successfully used in leak detection, pipe assessment, and continuous leak monitoring for decades. These technologies leverage advanced signal processing and machine learning, offering a proactive approach to managing water distribution networks. Let's examine three technologies that are achieving great results around the world.
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![Attaching acoustic node for permanent leak monitoring (002)]( "How Omaha Reduced Water Loss And Costs With Smart Hydrant Monitoring")
How Omaha Reduced Water Loss And Costs With Smart Hydrant MonitoringPermanent acoustic sensors turn fire hydrants into a high-tech defense against water loss. By monitoring pipe sounds 24/7, utilities can identify and fix hidden leaks before they cause expensive, unplanned service disruptions or emergency flooding.
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![Leak_Detection_iStock-1140422726.jpg]( "How Much Can Leak Detection Reduce Non-Revenue Water Losses?")
How Much Can Leak Detection Reduce Non-Revenue Water Losses?Utilities that choose not to install proactive leak detection know exactly how much they are ‘saving’ by avoiding that investment. Unfortunately, they often have no idea of how much they are actually ’paying’ to forego it, since 65 to 75 percent of water leaks never surface to prove their hidden expense. Now, with challenges related to water scarcity, regulatory reporting demands, AMI implementation, and an increase in aging infrastructure, it’s a better time than ever to reevaluate those costs.
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![GettyImages-165981489]( "From Invisible Losses To Data-Driven Gains: Why Smart Meters Are Essential For US Water Utilities")
From Invisible Losses To Data-Driven Gains: Why Smart Meters Are Essential For US Water UtilitiesBy integrating smart meter technology, utilities can ensure the sustainability of water resources, enhance operational efficiency, and make data-driven decisions.
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Antiscalant Impacts Water Reclamation Efforts
Water reuse efforts in the West Coast are a priority and have the Ground Water Replenishing System (GWRS) of the Orange County Water District (OCWD) utilizing new technologies for water conservation.
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![pic-4-450x300]( "Guide to Reliable Water Quality Data with Semiconductor-Based Turbidity Sensors")
Guide to Reliable Water Quality Data with Semiconductor-Based Turbidity SensorsRead more about why it's time for the water industry to start prioritizing drinking water safety.
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![Maximum Ozone Transfer Efficiency Across Broad Range of Water Flow_PIX]( "Maximum Ozone Transfer Efficiency Across Broad Range Of Water Flow")
Maximum Ozone Transfer Efficiency Across Broad Range Of Water FlowThe design team for the intermediate ozone system at Buckingham Water Treatment Plant, Quebec, had limited space available for ozone contacting for the plant’s 1.3 – 7.4 MGD flow, so a standard fine bubble diffusion basin for ozone disinfection was not an option.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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Reducing And Reusing Water In Steel Manufacturing2/28/2022
The art of manufacturing steel for industries is well over 100 years old. Within this time, the steel business has fulfilled consumer needs, including construction, transportation, and manufacturing. The steel manufacturing process is quite intensive as it requires a lot of water to cool down the application. Steel plants constantly look for strategies that can help sustain the steel for a longer time by efficiently improving water and energy consumption.
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Real-Time Conductivity Monitoring Estimates Chloride Levels In Minnesota Watershed By Using The Aqua TROLL 20011/18/2011Monitoring deicing chemical levels can help researchers, city governments, and regulatory agencies understand runoff impacts on surface water, groundwater, and surrounding environments.
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Bottled Water Industry: Liquid Analytical Solutions11/10/2013
Americans consume more than 9.1 billion gallons of bottled water annually - an average of twenty nine gallons per person every year.
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Municipal Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring9/24/2020
We arm municipalities with actionable data necessary to make informed decisions about water quality in their communities
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How To Install A Submersible Pump In Discharge Tubes11/28/2012
In the fields of water and waste water technology, submersible pumps represent a viable economic and technical alternative to conventional, dry-installed pumps. In particular, they offer a number of handling advantages during maintenance and installation work.
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What Are You Doing To My Pipe: Can PVC Pipe Be Loaded?4/13/2021
The argument has been used that PVC pipe is delicate and can’t be subjected to any kind of loading. In EBAA's years of testing we have found that is not the case at all. PVC can take an extreme amount of strain.
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Application Note: Troubleshooting A pH Electrode1/26/2011
Many factors affect performance of a pH electrode. When performance degrades, it is always a challenge for the analyst to identify the cause. Common troubleshooting procedures, which include evaluation of slope, electrode drift, time response, and accuracy, take considerable time. By Thermo Fisher Scientific
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Application Note: YSI Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring And The IPSWATCH-EMPACT Program12/28/2005The Ipswich and Parker Rivers watersheds lie only a short distance north of Boston, MA. The first settlements in these watersheds began in the early 1600s. Since that time, residents have relied heavily on the natural resources of the Parker and Ipswich Rivers, their coastal estuaries and Plum Island Sound, which is known as the Great Marsh. This ecosystem has been designated and protected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).
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Ion Exchange Resins And Activated Carbons For Better-Tasting Water12/18/2013
For many, access to good-tasting tap water is limited, and buying bottled water can be expensive. Simple pour-through jug filters offer a low-cost and effective alternative. Activated carbons, in conjunction with ion exchange products, produce drinking water that is absent of all industrial pesticides and contaminants.
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Take Control Of Your Water Distribution Network With Digitalization And Remote Monitoring5/19/2022
Any process plant constantly generates a high volume of status data. Today, this data can be extracted from the plant, stored, analyzed, and prepared to meet operator needs and lower marginal costs.
DRINKING WATER PRODUCTS
LeakFX is a data analysis tool for water utilities to quickly summarize, categorize, and prioritize suspected water leaks in their distribution system. This new tool saves water utilities hours of individual logger analysis every day. Instead of selecting logger by logger to view leak information, LeakFX combines all suspected leaks in one streamlined report.
The Series 1420 CHLOR-A-VAC® affords high efficiency addition and mixing of gases and liquid chemicals resulting in substantial chemical cost savings.
As PFAS and other emerging contaminants of concern are increasingly regulated, De Nora is developing new and effective methods for addressing CECs, innovating for the future.
Recover is a patented, satellite-based leak detection solution that uses L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to identify potable water leaks across entire water systems.
This compact instrument has been designed specifically to demonstrate and test POU reverse osmosis or distillation systems. By measuring electrical conductivity, it will quickly determine the parts per million/Total Dissolved Solids (ppm/TDS) of any drinking water
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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![wastewater ecological damage-GettyImages-2231956262]( "The Pragmatic Shift In Source Water Protection: Moving From Symptom Management To Root-Cause Accountability")
A shift in how we approach source water protection is long overdue. Currently, we are trapped in a cycle of escalating costs, forced to treat symptoms like algae and invasive weeds expediently with chemicals while the underlying risk in the reservoir compounds. True risk management requires breaking this cycle.
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![River water pollution, Ecological-GettyImages-1215336784]( "The AWWA Said $2.4 Trillion. It Missed The Compound Interest.")
Einstein once said of compound interest, "He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn't, pays it." The same logic of compounding applies to the organic sediment accumulating on the floor of your drinking water reservoir. The longer you wait to address it, the more exponentially expensive it becomes to fix. -
![snowystream-Getty-521971897]( "Winter's Alarmingly Low Snowpack Offers A Glimpse Of The Changing Rhythm Of Water In The Western U.S.")
The April 1 snowpack measurement has long been the single most important number in western water management, considered a strong proxy for how much water the mountains are holding in reserve. But in 2026, that savings account has been woefully deficient. -
![ColoradoRiverDam_Getty-1280300802]( "Why Colorado River Negotiations Stalled, And How They Could Resume With The Possibility Of Agreement")
Why Colorado River Negotiations Stalled, And How They Could Resume With The Possibility Of AgreementThe five most common sources of conflict between people are values, data, relationships, interests, and structure. The current Colorado River negotiations include all five. -
![Water droplets, PFAS, Forever chemical water contamination-GettyImages-2173433890]( "Designing Resilient PFAS Treatment Strategies For Water Agencies")
Water agencies across the U.S. are facing a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that poses a conundrum: Should they take a cautious or aggressive approach to treating PFAS contamination in their water system? -
![Oil spill clean up-GettyImages-1369921282]( "The Future Of In Situ Chemical Oxidation For Targeted Solvent Destruction")
The U.S. EPA’s 2026 trichloroethylene (TCE) compliance deadlines are now forcing a concrete shift toward source-zone destruction. In situ chemical oxidation (ISCO), sequenced with enhanced bioremediation, is proving to be the most credible path to groundwater contaminant rebound mitigation.
DRINKING WATER VIDEOS
Get a closer look at how SIWA MDM Analytics Foundation transforms utility data into actionable insight.
In Raleigh, N.C., there's a house... or what looks like a house. What's hidden inside is more important than most people realize.
IPR'S CIPP liner system for gravity-flow sewers and culverts is the most proven, cost-effective trenchless pipeline rehabilitation system in the industry. It is also the most widely specified form of trenchless pipeline rehabilitation.
ABOUT DRINKING WATER
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.